Wordless Wednesday - Cookies for Santa

It's a little chilly here

It's just a little cold up here in Alaska. Despite the cold we are having a wonderful time.

We made it

I have been meaning to blog but we've been so busy since we got here I haven't had time. We made it here on time. I'll post more later about our trip so far. Love y'all and I hope you had a fantastic Christmas!

Alaska

With all luck we are on our way to Alaska right now. Praying that the weather is beautiful and that the planes are flying. I will definitely update when I can.

Merry Chistmas

Merry Christmas!

Praying God's blessings on everyone as you celebrate the birth of our savior.

Christmas Performance

Ok I should have blogged this last week but my hard drive is freaking out and my camera wouldn't upload to my computer. Don't worry Renee I've backed everything up. I downloaded an update and it seems to be working ok but I'm still taking it in to the Apple dealer in Fairbanks when we get there. Anyway back to my point...

Last Wednesday was the annual Christmas presentation for Pullman Christian School (where Dan works) and Pullman Christian Childcare Center (Jonathan and Jason's Preschool). Dan wasn't really involved, except singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" at the end of the show. Mostly he just maintained the Jr. High Students and confiscated cell phones from students who were texting during the program.

The daycare put on a really cute show. This kids sang "Happy Christmas" and "Little Drummer Boy" and it was as cute as you can imagine. Jason just sat there on stage but Jonathan was really into the show. If we get a video after the 1st of the I'll be sure to post it for y'all.


Look at him. He is all boy with his shirttail hanging out and his undershirt showing. After the show he informed me that I forgot to put his belt on so his pants kept falling down. He couldn't have told me that while we were still at home so I could do something about it.

Playing "The Little Drummer Boy." The teachers saved formula cans and they kids used them as drums, so creative. How cute is he! Jonathan had so much fun!

During their performance I was sitting down on the floor right in front of the stage so I could get good pictures. Jonathan saw me and gave me the sign for "I Love You." That kid can be a real pain but I totally love him!

Wordless Wednesday

Making Snowflakes

Kristen posted this on her blog and I thought it looked fun. If you do one leave me a comment with the number so I can go look at yours.

Mine - 7595243
Dan's - 7595353

8 Months

Jason turned eight months old on the 18th and we took our monthly picture of him. He is such a great kid. At eight months he has two teeth, he's starting to try and crawl, loves eating everything you give him, and has a great little personality. I love this kid!

Every month we take a picture of Jason with is bear, Kodiak.

Jason at 7 months

Jason at 8 months

Snow Everywhere

I love the snow but it needs to stop now! We are supposed to fly to Alaska on Christmas Day and I don't want our trip to end up canceled. That being said Jonathan is enjoying the snow. On Sunday we bundled him up because he was literally starting to climb the walls and needed to get outside and run and play. Dan and Jonathan headed out in the iced over snow to take the sled out for a walk. They tried to sled in the yard but they keep sinking in so Dan took him to the end of the road and back. They had fun.





Jason and I stayed inside and stayed warm. A good time was had by all.

YAHOO AGAIN

My mom called me today and I passed both Standard 1 and Standard 2 of the Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Assessment. 4 tests passed, 1 left and then I am eligible to be certified to teach in the state of Idaho. I still need to finish school but most of my tests are done (until we decide where we are moving and I have to get certified there)

I also got my grades today and I did very well this semester. All my hard work is definitely paying off!

One Long Drive

I posted while we were on the road that the weather was pretty bad but I thought I would expand on that post.

When we woke up Saturday morning the weather in Pullman was foggy but otherwise good so we decided to go ahead and continue with our plans to go for Portland that day. As we left Pullman the weather got better. The roads were good and it was sunny and beautiful. The weather stayed pretty good until we got to Arlington, Oregon. At this point it started to snow a little but the roads were still pretty good. By the time we got to The Dalles, Oregon it was snowing, windy and the roads were terrible. The wind was blowing from all directions and because it was coming in off the Columbia River the wind was very cold. Any moisture on the windshield froze instantly because of how cold the wind was. We had our defrost on full blast and the windshield wipers still weren't really doing enough. Dan could only see out of a little part of the windshield because of the ice buildup. I was reaching out the window breaking ice off the wipers and clearing out what I could and watching the road from my side. A 1.5 hour drive took a little over 3 hours but we did finally make it to my in-laws and off the roads. As it turned out they actually closed I-84 shortly after we made it to Portland and as far as I know the road is still closed.

Here are a few pictures from the drive before it got too dark.

Trucks and cars lined up along the side of the road putting chains on.

This was when the roads were still kinda good. They got a lot worse.

Nothing but taillights.

Bad Weather UPDATE AT BOTTOM

I'm posting from Dan's phone so forgive me if there are mistakes. We are on I84 headed west to Portland an the weather is bad. We are about 50 miles from my In-laws house. It should be an hour drive but with the weather it will be longer. If you read this say a prayer for us. Jonathan is starting to climb the wall! I will updatewhen we get there

Well a 6 hour drive turned in to over 10 but we are finally in Portland safe and sound. Thank you for your prayers.

Wordless Wednesday

YAHOO!

I PASSED BOTH PRAXIS TESTS!!!!!

Jason's 1st snow

Call me crazy but I love the snow. There is something magical and wonderful about the snow. I wait in eager anticipation for the first snow to fall and there is a twinge of sadness when all the snow melts. Growing up in Alaska there was always snow on the ground by Halloween and usually the snow fell by October 1st. The snow stayed around until at least mid April and I can remember several mid May snow flurries. Snow was a huge part of my life growing up. I loved to build forts, go skiing, and of course sledding. I absolutely can not wait to go to Alaska for Christmas and spend 10 days in a winter wonderland. I would love to move back to Alaska and if the right opportunity came around I think Dan would be willing.

Early Saturday morning the Palouse was blanketed with several inches of white beauty. I didn't even have to get out of bed to know it had snowed. The light coming through our bedroom window was brighter and I knew that meant snow. Right after breakfast we bundled up and headed out to shovel the driveway. Jonathan took his shovel and pail from the beach and happily set about digging in the snow. Jason was all bundled up in his Elmo snowsuit and boots that are two or three sizes too big. I was excited to see his reaction to the snow. He seemed to like it but he didn't last too long outside as it was almost naptime.




I love Jason's expressions.

Offensive Words

Renee's Monday Moment for Down Syndrome today was about the r word. She has posted on the topic before. Admittedly I used to use the r word all the time without even thinking about what I was really saying. After reading what Renee and others had to say I have since amended my vocabulary. So check out what she has to say, she is an awesome mom and advocate for her children.

Not Me Monday!

I was not so busy with school last week that I completely forgot to participate in Not me Monday!

I did not let my almost 8 month old play with a piece of paper for almost half an hour. That would be irresponsible of me. I most certainly did not have to pull little pieces of paper out of his mouth once I realized that he was not eating the paper.

I did not let my husband make the treats that I took to a class party.

I did not spend most of last week so busy and stressed out that I didn't sleep enough and eat well enough and I do not have a cold to prove my point.

That's all I got today!

Wordless Wednesday

oops

So I've gone a few days without posting. Sorry. Its dead week which means by the end of the week I'll be dead. Ok not really but I'll be really busy and probably not posting. But I'm reading and I'll try to comment. Know that I love you all!

Christmas Cards

Well thanks to my trusty tripod we were able to get our Christmas picture taken today. I was going to post the picture but I think I'll wait. I know I'm terrible aren't I :) If you want a Christmas card send me an email with your address and I'll get one in the mail to you! acbrough@gmail.com

Christmas Family

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family. Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Now its your turn. Let me know if you do it!

Bed Time

Jonathan will do absolutely anything to keep himself awake at bedtime. Tonight was rather funny to me (probably because I was an observer and not actually involved)

JD: Daddy come here.

Dan opens the door to the boys room which squeaks as you open it.

Dad: What JD? You need to be asleep.

JD: That noise is keeping me awake.

Dad: What noise?

JD: The squeak.

Dad: What squeak?

JD: The squeak when you opened the door.

Dad: But the door only squeaked because I opened it to see what you wanted.

JD: Yeah but the squeak is keeping me awake.

Dad: But, wait, what!?

JD: Make the squeak stop.

Dad: Ok I'm leaving.

Closes squeaky door.

JD: (from inside his room) I told you to make it stop the squeak is keeping me awake.

Crazy kid!

Wordless Wednesday

Flashback

It's amazing how music can transport you back to another time and place. Right now I'm listening to The Nylons. Old school, yes. Fantastic and amazing, yes. When I was in high school I spent a lot of time hanging out with two boys who were two years older than me. I can't even being to tell you how much these two meant to me then and how much they still mean to me now. They are the brothers I never had and I love them so much. As part of band we ushered for local concerts. If we weren't interested in the concert we would just hang out in the lobby of stairs and the boys would sing. They sang a lot of things but one of the things I remember them singing was The Nylons. And now as I listen to The Nylons I can see us hanging out in that stairwell and the boys singing.

Eric Whitacre's Ghost Train Triptych is another song that really takes me back. We played the 1st movement of it my freshman year of high school at The Pacific Basin Music Festival in Hawaii. These same two boys were in band with me and on that trip. Listening to this song takes me back to that time and place where we got a standing ovation from a packed house and all three judges. It was amazing. One of the boys and I also spent a lot of time together listening to this song and driving around Fairbanks. Wonderful memories.

Another song that reminds me of these two boys is Johan de Meij's Symphony No.1 The Lord of the Rings: I Gandalf (The Wizard). This piece was inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of Rings trilogy but was composed long before the movies came about. Anyway each year the senior class gets to pick a song that the band will play at graduation. It's the last time the seniors get to play with the group and it's kind of a big deal. This was the song that the class of 1998 chose to play at graduation. One of the boys was a tuba player and the other was a percussionist so in the set up of our band they were close to each other. I remember during graduation looking over and seeing the boys and starting to cry knowing this was the last time I would ever be in band with them. I can still close my eyes and see CS playing the timpani drum at the end of the song. CS if you are reading this I totally love you and can't wait to see you at Christmas!

Congratulations on making it this far. Now I pose the question to y'all: what songs take you back in time and where do they take you?